


weather the storm and don’t look back

by confessionofaking



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anxiety Attacks, Astraphobia, Bisexual Jack Kelly, Davey gives him one, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gay David Jacobs, Jack Needs a Hug, M/M, Sad with a Happy Ending, Trans Jack Kelly, i wrote this with the livesies cast in mind but it doesn’t matter, it’s not relevant but it needs to be said
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:48:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25812331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confessionofaking/pseuds/confessionofaking
Summary: Davey comes home in the middle of a severe thunderstorm and finds Jack in a state of panic.
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly
Comments: 3
Kudos: 68





	weather the storm and don’t look back

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my first Newsies fanfic and I’m beyond excited about it. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Title: Viva La Gloria - Green Day
> 
> Twitter: @hidingintheivy  
> Tumblr: transpatschneider
> 
> Thanks for reading!

David cursed as he ran through the parking lot, soaked to the bone by the time he’d reached the door of his building. He had to stay late at work to finish an article due in the morning, and it was just his luck that it started downpouring as soon as he left work. The weather had gradually gotten worse as he commuted home, which added to his stress. David _hated_ driving in the rain.

Once he stepped in the building, his irritation with how his day had gone turned to worry. David had messaged Jack to let him know that he’d be home late and never got a response. He figured Jack was just in his studio, completely oblivious to the outside world. This seemed to be the case when he stepped into their shared apartment, because the lights in the living room were off and he heard the faint sound of music coming from down the hall.

David set his bag and keys down and headed straight to the bathroom to strip out of his wet clothes. He tossed them in the hamper to be washed later and placed a towel on the counter so he could shower. 

Ten minutes later, David felt significantly better. 

He made his way to his and Jack’s bedroom, opening the door to a pitch black room. He saw the lump on the bed and smiled, knowing Jack fell asleep while listening to music. He hummed the Hozier song that filled the air while he put on his pajamas. 

A loud crack of thunder shook the apartment. The sudden noise breaking the ambiance of the room startled David. When the noise died down, the sound of quiet sobs filled David’s ears. 

“Jack?” The man in question responded with a whimper.

Davey made a beeline to the lump on their bed, sitting down beside his boyfriend. “Jack? What’s wrong?” 

Another sob came from beneath the blankets. Davey joined him under the comforter and pulled Jack close to him, knowing that he liked physical contact when he was upset. Jack immediately turned over and buried his face in Davey’s chest. Thunder ripped through the air and he could feel Jack stiffen. “Is it the storm?” 

Jack nodded against him, barely holding back tears. “It’s okay, baby, I’m right here. You’re okay.” Davey whispered, running a hand through Jack’s hair. “What do you need?”

He didn’t get a verbal response, just Jack’s arms wrapping around his waist. 

They laid like that for what felt like hours. Jack, tightening his grip on Davey’s waist and wailing any time thunder cracked outside, and Davey, doing his absolute best to comfort his boyfriend. 

He hated seeing Jack like this. 

Suddenly, Jack’s weird behavior that morning made sense. While not a morning person, Jack usually perked up once he got coffee in his system. Today, Davey had only seen him take a single sip of his coffee before he zoned out, staring at the wall and biting at his fingernails. Jack had brushed him off when Davey asked if he was okay, but Davey just assumed he was stressed about a painting he was working on. Davey now realized that Jack had seen the weather forecast and was already anxious over it. 

They’d been dating for a while, and friends even longer. The couple had just moved in together a month ago. By now, they knew each other’s nervous habits. Davey rambles aimlessly and paces the room, while Jack goes quiet and curls up in bed or on the couch, hiding himself from the world.

He just never realized that Jack was afraid of thunderstorms. It made sense. When the group hung out in the past, Jack had always come up with some excuse to leave before the weather got bad, and Davey never thought anything of it. This was the first storm they’ve had since they moved in together.

“Davey?” Jack asked. Davey’s heart broke at how scared Jack sounded. “I’m sorry you gotta come home and deal with me.” Jack mumbled, gripping Davey’s shirt in his hands. Davey frowned at the bitterness in the other man’s voice. He could almost _feel_ the self-loathing radiating off of Jack.

Jack tried to act like he was a tough macho man that never cares about anything, but he was actually a total softie. Everyone sees through his tough-guy act, but they let him believe he actually comes across that way. The man constantly waxes poetic while looking at art, nature, or Davey, and he cries when they see stray animals, so it was far-fetched for them to believe that Jack wasn’t a total sap. 

“Jack Kelly, please don’t apologize for being scared. Please don’t act like you’re a burden. I did not have to come home and ‘deal with you,’ I came home to find you anxious and terrified, and in need of comfort. I love you, and I wanna take care of you.” Davey said. 

He pulled Jack closer to him and kissed the top of his head. Jack nodded, and Davey knew he wasn’t getting a verbal response. 

An hour had gone by when Davey noticed the storm had ended. Jack had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion, the stress of the day and crying for at least two hours finally catching up to him. He decided to get up and make them dinner, since he was starving and he knew Jack probably hadn’t been able to eat due to his anxiety. It took a couple minutes to wiggle out of Jack’s grasp, making the younger man whine in his sleep. 

Davey turned up the brightness on his phone, not wanting to turn on a lamp and wake Jack up. Indirectly point the light in Jack’s direction, he finally got to see Jack’s face for the first time since he left home that morning. His heart ached. Jack’s face was splotchy, heavy bags sat under his eyes, which were probably bloodshot from crying for so long.

He frowned at the sight. Davey leaned down to press a kiss to Jack’s cheek and quickly exited the room to see what they had to eat.

After glancing around their pantry, he decided on spaghetti. Between work and the storm, Davey was exhausted and not entirely up to cooking anything more complicated. 

Once he finished cooking, Davey went back into their bedroom and sat down on the bed. “Jack?” He called. “I made spaghetti if you feel like eating.” 

“Good, m’starving.” Jack mumbled, burying his face in his pillow. He sighed and slowly sat up, but didn’t move to get out of bed. “God, my head hurts.” Jack grimaced. Davey ran his thumb over Jack’s knuckles before going to get Jack some painkillers and a glass of water. Jack glanced up at him, feeling vulnerable. 

Jack didn’t have a problem showing his emotions, but Davey catching him freaking out over a thunderstorm, of all things, was embarrassing. 

“Hey,” Davey grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone is afraid of something, it’s only human.”

Jack squeezed his boyfriend’s hand. “Yeah, but being afraid of storms is embarrassing. I’m afraid of snakes and the cops, those are at least rational fears.” 

“You know as well as anyone that fears don’t have to be rational. I can swim well, but if I can’t touch the ground I freak out. Remember when we went to Maine last summer and the guys wanted to go canoeing? I was freaking out the entire time because I knew how deep the water was, even though I can swim and I had a life jacket on.” 

“I guess you’re right.” Jack paused. “Thank you, Dave. For being there for me.” Davey leaned over to kiss him, smiling at the blush on his boyfriend’s face.

“I just wish I’d gotten home sooner. But you don’t have to thank me. I love you, Jack Kelly, and I will always be there for you.” He stood up, holding out his hand for Jack to grab. “Now let’s eat, I’m starving.”

Jack grabbed his hand and climbed out of bed. Before Davey could guide them to the kitchen, Jack pulled him in for a hug. “I love you too, David Jacobs. I’m glad I have you in my life.” It was Jack’s turn to smile as Davey blushed. “Now let’s eat, I’m starving.” Jack mocked, laughing as Davey lightly swatted his ass on their way out of the bedroom.


End file.
